


Sacred and mundane

by laudanum_and_wine



Category: Hellboy (Movies)
Genre: Between Movies, F/M, Fluff, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-11
Updated: 2018-01-19
Packaged: 2019-01-16 04:11:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 4,078
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12335232
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/laudanum_and_wine/pseuds/laudanum_and_wine
Summary: Just a few very short slice-of-life chapters from between the films. I love Golden Army, but actually was a little miffed about what they did with both Myers and Manning so I'm going to write in a happy pre-GA universe where everyone I love is happy and (relatively) safe.As always, I own no rights to these characters, settings, or any of that. I'm just playing in the sandbox, thank you for making it.Also, no beta, written on phones mostly, so all errors are my own.





	1. Chapter 1

Liz woke up on an annoyingly thin mattress, with a small weight pinning her down. She allowed herself a moment to really wake up by blinking in the darkness for a time, then finally shifted to determine the source of the weight on her side. As she rolled over the cat leapt away, leaving Liz cold.

“Mrggg,” she sat mostly up, bracing on one arm. “Where am I. What. What time-?” 

Movement near the bed she was on drew her attention, and she saw Red's hands appear on the edge of the mattress before she saw his face. She looked down on him, curled on a ridiculously small sofa pushed against the back of the truck she was sleeping in.

“Go back to sleep,” a large hand made soothing patting motions on the mattress as Red slumped back to his sofa.

“What time is it even?” Liz sat up fully, gently but firmly removing a new cat from her lap.

“It's uh-” the man below her groped along the floor until he pulled up a too bright digital clock face. He stared at the numbers for a moment before answering. “It's four in the morning. I think. Did I set the AM/PM thing on this right..? It's four.”

Liz slid out of bed, pausing as she ended up sitting on the top of Red's sofa, her feet tucked warmly between him and the back. She blinked for a time, removing another cat from herself, and finally made a strange sad noise.

Red bolted upright, the shift causing her to slide cross-legged onto the sofa in front of him as he leaned into her space.

“Hey, kid, you okay? You crying?” His hand hesitated for a moment before tracing her cheek, checking for tears.

“No,” she huffed, then was silent.

He paused, then rubbed her arm, “Are you maybe tired and confused and it's making you angry?” 

“No,” this time her reply held a hint of humor. “Maybe. I think I woke up because I have to pee?”

“Probably, Sparkey. How about this: I'll walk you to the bathroom so you don't trip, then you go back to bed? Don't think too hard, all the thinking can be done when you wake up and are less tired. And I'm not just trying to placate you so that you don't scorch my blankets.”

“You called me Sparkey.”

He ignored the comment and stood, gently helping Liz to stand, “Up you get.”

They trundled to the bathroom and Red leaned in to hit the light, “This part I'm not helping with, try not to drown.”

“Ha. Hilarious.”

Liz swung the door shut in his face and shuffled into the room.

Outside Red stood for a moment, hunched over sleepily, then shrugged. He sat with as much delicacy as a giant sleepy demon can muster, and leaned his head against the door. Staring forward for a few minutes he listened to movement behind the door, then to eventually silence.

“Liz, I can hear you thinking. Save it for the morning.”

The door opened behind him.

“Sorry. You were right, I'm angry because I'm tired. I want to go back to bed,” she stepped past him and shivered as she helped him up.

Together they stumbled back to the truck. Liz clambered over the sofa then looked back once.

“Hey. It's cold. Get in here.”

“I'm fine here” Red smiled as he sat on the sofa nearby.

“Yeah, well I'm cold so get your radiator ass in bed,” 

“Ah,” Red stood and blinked for just a moment before climbing upward off of the sofa and into the space Liz had made.

“I snore.” 

“You snore from the sofa too, shut up and work on getting me warmer."”

“Fine, but if you roll over and clock yourself on my hand I am definitely gonna laugh at you.”

“Then I'll just have to sleep closer,” Liz nuzzles against him, resting her head on the bicep of one large arm.

“Aw shucks Sparkey, you coming on to me?” Red murmured into the hair now awkwardly jammed against his face. 

“I'm going to drool on your arm now,” Liz replied sleepily, and proceeded to do just that.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Whoops, chapter two! Waking up the day after you died has to be weird.

Waking up in the same bed as the man who loved her was both more and less awkward than Liz had anticipated. He was asleep, which was good. They were not in some weird compromising position, also good. She was however pinned in bed by three cats lying above the blankets, and sure enough she had managed to smush her face against a rock hard wrist and could feel that her cheek had dimples from the pressure.

Liz rolled her neck a little, thinking about the prior day. Dying, coming back to life. That wasn't much fun. The medical checkup on landing, also not fun. The watching Red break into the lab after hour 3 in silent fury, that had been fun. High point of her day.

Aside from resurrection. And the kiss.

Liz derailed that thought for the moment. She had been trying to remember the day prior- after the medical checkup… Right, Red, cold fury, walked through the door (literally through it), scooped her up from the medical table, and carried her right out with him.

Twice in a day he did that, Jesus. What a record to set, scoping her out of danger twice on day one of their-

Of what?

Liz turned slowly, just enough to get a good look at the sleeping man beside her. His face was relaxed, making him look not un-goofy. From her weird below angle she could just see a glimpse of white teeth standing in contrast to red skin. His eyelashes were shockingly long, how'd she never noticed that? There was a fan of his hair mussed on the pillow, the band holding it must have twisted loose in the night. She thought that it probably looked like a strange mullet, his hair down, and she snorted quietly at the thought. 

He might have played rescuing-knight yesterday, but she was glad to find he still looked normal to her. Still Goofy and weird and human. Well. Human adjacent.

“Whatcha thinking?” The bassy rumble surprised her.

“I was thinking you look ridiculous,” Liz rolled over to face him entirely.

“Says the girl with an embossed face.”

“You warned me,” she scooted up the bed to drape herself across Red's chest.

“I did. But did you listen?”

“Nope.” They were silent for a moment, Liz staring into a middle distance while Red began to trace vague patterns on her arm.

“I think I died yesterday.”

“Mmhm.”

“Should I be in shock?”

“I don't know,” he paused considering. “Is it a terribly traumatic memory?”

“Not really. Blackness. Your voice. A bit like waking up today, but colder.”

“More naked too.”

“Thank you for bringing up the really important details,” Liz dug her chin into the pectoral below her with a mean smile and glared through her lashes at him.

“How do you feel?” He winced and squirmed a bit to move her jaw from the now sore spot.

She thought for a bit, remembering dying, and Red's voice, and the fiery kiss. She remembered the numb feeling on the plane ride home, and the clinical hands of physicians, and how relieved she felt when Hellboy carried her into his room, not even speaking to the protesting agents, and wrapped her in a quilt. She remembered how he held her hand as she nodded off, and how safe she'd felt when she saw him upon waking. 

“Pancakes. I feel like pancakes.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Relationship talk, but one of the easy talks. (I'm sure with these two, the talks get harder)

“So hey,” Liz sat back down, having retrieved her second serving of pancakes from the kitchen cart. “Do you remember James?”

“Who?”

“The kid I took to senior prom, the one with the awful haircut.”

“Him,” Red skewered a pancake, folding it once to eat whole. “Do we still have those photos? With you in the pink dress?”

“It was purple.”

“Ha, a likely story.”

“The photos didn't make it after the Pittsburgh thing,” Liz shifted as she spoke, her hair falling between them.

“Crap,” Red said softly, then brushed away her dark hair. “Well then, I've got no evidence to argue it was pink, do I? What about James, and the lavender wedding cake abomination that you wore?”

Liz huffed a laugh, then went back to speaking to her pancakes “I was just thinking of him. Is it weird for you, that you watched me go through those awkward high school dates?”

“There weren't many, kid. Why you asking?” Red set aside his plate, while Liz fiddled with her own.

“You're not weirded out that I'm 'that kid’ who used to hang out around the library and bug you guys after missions?”

“Ah. This is the age thing.”

“I mean yeah. It just seems like you'd think of me as that young dumb teen, moping and setting shit on fire,” Liz set her plate down on the floor, and pulled her legs to her chest. 

“Liz. Listen. You remember when you came back after college? The first visit I saw you, right after graduation.”

“Yeah, kinda.”

“You brought beer, and I walked into the study to find you drinking with Abe. And honestly I didn't recognize you, I saw you so little before you left that I had no idea who this strange woman kicking her feet in Abe's tank could be. I remember you had that nose ring, and the dark lipstick.”

“And that baret! God,” she laughed into her hands. “I thought I was so cool.”

“You were. To me, you were. I'd honestly never had a beer before that day. And he you come looking like some bombshell artist type from the city, talking poetry but also drinking beer and telling dirty jokes? I never knew what hit me.”

“You'd never had a beer?”

“In my defence I was living down the hall from Father at the time. And where am I gonna buy a six pack, huh? I'd only ever stolen some nice scotch that tasted awful.”

“So you developed that vices after meeting me? I'm so proud, Red.”

“I don't know if you've seen a mirror lately Liz, but yeah. You have a lasting effect.”

“On you maybe.”

“Maybe, yeah. But that was it, that was the day.”

“The day you fell in love?” Liz asked carefully.

“Yeah. At least, a little. And then after Pittsburgh and… When you came to stay. I couldn't figure out why you'd spend time with us, but the more I got to know you, the more I knew you could belong here. If you wanted. That I wanted you to.”

“I do want. To belong here, I mean.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. A little, at least.”

Red grinned at her, as though she'd said 'i love you.’ Which they were both aware she had not, that she careful had not. Still, he was happy, which made her happy.

“When did you finally realize you could put up with my ugly mug?” Red resumed eating with badly feigned nonchalance.

“I don't know,” Liz lifted her last pancake with the fork and transferred it to his plate. “At first, when I'd visit way back in high school, I definitely had a crush on you. I was a little star struck, thought you were cool and mature.”

Red snorted a laugh, sending stray crumbs of pancake flying. He coughed once, then swallowed his bite “Please repeat that, I need to record you so I can play that back to Abe.”

“I was young and dumb, and learned the error of my ways. But later, when I did come back from college, I realized you hadn't changed. You were still pulling the same pranks and it just seemed really immature.”

“I was too immature for you-” he gesticulated with a fork, and spoke around a mouth full of pancake, “when you were, what, twenty? Is that what you're saying?”

“I was still young, and dumb, and just wrote you off as a teenage crush I grew out of. Which I guess gave me a chance to get to know the actual you, not the idolized teenage fantasy,” Liz shrugged, and stood to stack her dishes on the kitchen tray.

“Fantasy?” 

“Cool your jets, hot stuff. Just, I got to know you. The big, dumb, immature, actual you. And him I find I really do like. A lot.”

“Good enough for me. Ha, you thought I was cool,” Red had finished his plate and paused in front of Liz for a moment. After a second of quiet deliberation he leaned down and pressed a kiss to her forehead. Liz closed her eyes and leaned in slightly, relaxing, then grimaced.

“Ew.” 

“What?”

“You got me all sticky with syrup, gross.” Liz wandered toward the bathroom, rubbing her maple scented forehead.


	4. Emotional Solidarity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little breif chapter this time: the first part of a first date.

Liz was sitting on the cement floor glaring at the half-open vault door when Red finally saw her. She was slouched, with one leg akimbo, and didn't look up at the sound of his steps.

“Did it offend you or something?” Red sat next to her silently and stared at the door. 

“What are you doing Red?” 

“Showing solidarity. For. Whatever you're glaring at. Not sure what it is, but you seem pissed off at it, so I am pissed off too. Supportively pissed off,” Red nodded then flipped off the door. “Seriously though, what are we doing here?”

“I think a sprained my ankle.”

“Fuckin no good ankle spraining door. You okay?”

“Carry me to the sofa you jerk,” Liz made grabby hands as he stood, and was transported to the sofa. Red sat beside her, gently lifting both of her ankles into his lap and slipping off her shoes.

“Glad you're not in boots today.”

“Yeah, unlacing them would probably hurt,” Liz winced a little anyway as her flat was gently slid off.

“Nah, your feet just reek in those boots. Do you ever even wash them? Do you walk through road kill for fun? We've been dating a month and I feel like I don't even know you.” Red deadpanned the words as he began to careful massage the feet in question.

“Shut up. You're one to talk, your duster still smells like charred dead guy.”

“First off, that's why it's way over there by the door. Second, who's fault is the charred dead guy?”

“I kicked it.”

“The dead guy?” Red looked over, confused.

“No, idiot. The door.”

“I'm feeling a lot less mad at the door now,” he slowed his one-handed massage and considered the foot in his hand. “What's got you kicking doors?”

Liz glanced up through her fringe at his quite tone of voice. Red's eyes stayed fixed on a middle distance behind her feet, his face blank, and she realized he was worried. About something, not her bruised foot or ego, but that somehow her bruised foot was part of something he'd missed. A wave of mixed sadness and frustration hit Liz, that after a month he was still scared every little thing was something that would drive or drag her out of his life. Idiot.

“You wana go on a date Red?”

He blinked and shifted his confused yellow eyes to her face. “What.”

“I'm sick of only talking to all the tight-wad agents here, and we haven't gotten to go on a proper date yet. It'll be fun.” Liz watched as Red shifted her feet to the floor and sat up straighter, considering his words.

“Liz, I'm not exactly a dinner-and-a-movie kinda guy here. There's not a dive-theater dark enough to make me inconspicuous...”

“Red, I've been on a lot of shitty dinner-and-a-movie dates and I can tell you what all of them had in common: the movie was something new and awful that no one wanted to see, the food was cheap and greasy, the conversation was stilted, and for some reason despite all that the guy would try to snake a hand up my shirt like I was being gifted some god damned-” Liz cut herself off at the interested leer on his face. “Okay, I realize now that some of that might have sounded like selling points to you.”

“I'm a great conversationalist, Sparkey, and the rest of the evening sounds like a pretty good time...”

“My point,” Liz swatted lightly at the hand inching up her thigh, “Is that is not the date I want to go on with YOU.”

“What kind of date do you want to go on?” Red's hand resumed it's wander on her leg as he smirked at her.

Liz stood, testing her ankle for a moment. When she was sure it was able to hold her weight, if a bit sore, she turned and pressed a kiss to Red's jaw. 

“Go put your stinky-ass coat on.”


	5. Date Night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know I'm not even sure what I'm doing anymore? I haven't decided if the next chapter will cause an increase in the rating of this fic. Whatever, two chapters in a week is something at least!

Liz was lounging on a low wall, watching the grey clouds slowly roil. She'd been waiting for about twenty minutes, but it was a nice warm evening here at the end of spring, and she was more than happy to soak in the fresh air.

“Damnit, you wore the boots,” Red sighed dramatically, but was smiling as he approached her.

“It might rain, I didn't want to ruin our date by being under-dressed.” Liz smiled and hopped up, sidestepping a gravestone to reach him.

“Not that I don't adore a mysterious evening graveyard rendezvous, but why the graveyard again?” Liz reached up, wrapping arms around his neck. For a moment Red just smiled at her before leaning down slightly to her level and giving her a quick peck hello.

“Damn you for being so tall,” Liz tried to pretend she didn't sound breathless.

“You're just tiny, not my fault.”

“It's empty.”

“What?”

“The graveyard: it's empty, and on the right side of town, and I know you know some secret path to get here,” Liz walked back to the wall as she spoke, pulling a huge backpack up from the grass. She paused, realizing they hadn't really talked much about her former abode, “Because it's near the hospital, and you always managed to visit me there. Without paparazzi photos surfacing later.”

“Hey,” Red reached out and took the oversized bag, “Those guys photos are always blurry anyway. Worth risking to visit you, any day.”

“Thank you.” Liz looked up through her lashes with the hint of a smirk. She led them to a grassy patch at the back edge of the graveyard, a wide verge of grass between the back headstones and the forest bordering the cemetery. With her help Red unpacked the large bag, pulling out first a blanket then a variety of foil wrapped objects.

“Your secret date is a surprise picnic?” Red smiled, “In a graveyard?” 

“Who's gonna bug us, right?” Liz traded foil packages with him, “This is an everything-on-it three foot sub from Newman's. You're welcome. The guy told me next time I could call in advance if I'm ordering food for a party. But he did throw in chips for free, so there's that.”

“Not that I will ever turn down Newman's,” Red unwrapped the foil from one end of the sub with a pointed delicacy, “But isn't five in the evening a bit late for lunch?”

“Like you didn't already eat lunch,” Liz elbowed him, causing Red to hold a protective hand over the sandwich.

“You have a whole plan don't you? And I'm the sucker along for the ride.” 

“I plan great dates,” Liz chewed her way through her own smaller sandwich, “I mean there's food. A view of the sunset. And-” She rolled back to reach into the bag one-handed and sat up with a triumphant grin, “Beer to enjoy while watching it.”

“You’re not gonna get too cold out here after dark?” 

“Ah, I thought of that. I brought a radiator,” Liz smiled and ducked under Reds arm. “See? We're all set until six fifteen ish.”

“What's happens then?” Red shuffled his sandwich between hands as Liz snagged an opportune bite.

“The drive-in opens.”

~~~

“See, I never liked Rick.” Red shifted, pulling more of his jacket to cover Liz. “You cold?” 

“A little. But why? I would think Bogart films would be right up your alley,.”

“He's alright, sure,” Red fished the blanket out from the bag and threw it across them both. “I mean honestly I was more of a John Wayne and western fan, But I don't DISLIKE Bogart or anything. I just don't get why Rick's such an indecisive jerk most of the film.” 

“She IS married.”

“So?”

Liz laughed into his collar.

“It's kinda nice without the sound,” Liz shifted he shoulders on the wall they were backed against. The view from the building they were perched on way a little obscured by a tree, but they'd both seen the film before. With one arm Liz carefully reached into the backpack wedged into the roof-access door to fish out the last beer. 

“Careful. If that door shuts and we get shut up on this roof I'll hop right down, but you'll be outta luck.”

“What, wouldn't carry me down with you?” 

“Nope, I'd watch from the street as you tried to climb down the drain pipe.”

“This is the thanks I get for taking you on a date?” Liz took a sip of beer then juggled the can away from Red playfully.

“I mean, you did take me out to dinner and a movie. According to tradition I think you can get a hand up my shirt,” Red leaned past Liz, using his longer arms to simply steal the can.

Liz grinned and snuck her hand under his shirt, still ice cold from holding the beer can. She slipped her other cold hand against his skin after he swore and dropped the beer, “Hey, this IS fun, who knew?”

“You spilled our drink,” Red said with feigned disappointment, holding still under her hands.

“I'll make it up to you.”

Her hands were warming now, gently tracing the ripple of muscles along his ribs. As Red began to move, finally sliding his left hand along her spine, Liz relaxed. Exhaling a breath she'd somehow held all evening she twisted to sit above Red, straddling his lap with a crumpled blanket behind her and her hands unconsciously dancing over his skin. 

“Liz,” one surprisingly soft hand was inching its way up her spine, as the other gently dug rock hard fingers onto her thigh. “Liz, you sure you wanna get caught canoodling on a roof with some-”

“Stop talking and kiss me.”

And with a sigh he was suddenly kissing her, both hands pulling her closer, fingers digging in just a little too low to be on her waist. She was always surprised by how warm his mouth was, definitely way above human body temperature, his tongue sweet and salty from carmel and bitter from their shared beer. Her hands seemed to wander off their own volition, trying to map every inch of skin at the same desperate pace as their kiss. She nipped lightly at his lower lip and smiled at the strangled noise he made.

“You trying to kill me, woman?”

After a few minutes longer Liz pulled back for a lung full of cold air ,finding her hands had stopped their roving with one hand locked behind his neck and the other tangled in a belt loop at his hip.

“Red,” she said his name slowly, just to hear it, just to make him hear her say it. With an unbearably smug smile he leaned back in, kissing a trail down her neck and jaw.

“Yes Liz, were you gonna say something?”

“You jackass,” Liz teased, then pulled him in again for a moment, nipping his lower lip and retreating a hair's breadth, forcing Red to chase her lips. She laughed, leaning back and watching him follow her. “I changed my mind, we should head home.”

“Movie's not over, let's keep doing this instead,” he muttered into her neck as he nuzzled and kissed his way from her collar to ear.

“Red.” She sat back a little, smiling up at him with clear eyes and blinked.

“Yes Liz?” 

She raised one brow, staying silent for a moment before continuing a little self consciously “I didn't say we have to stop this, I'd just like to continue it at home. Where it's not freezing. And there's a roof. And doors. That lock.”

“Oh. Well yeah, that works for me.”


End file.
